


Truth or Dare

by rollingday_s



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Choose Your Own Adventure, Comedy, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-16 01:32:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10561130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rollingday_s/pseuds/rollingday_s
Summary: Nino and Aiba have a secret game they like to play since they were fifteen, and neither has called it quit yet. But what happens when Nino accidentally finds out that Aiba had been keeping a huge secret from him for seventeen years?Note: >>This story has different endings depending on the choices you make.<<





	1. Truth or Dare

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted on LJ. Arashi don't belong to me, it's them who own my Soul! Soul! 
> 
> **Note** : >> **This story has five different endings.** << At some point, you will be presented with some choices to make with regards to what the characters have to do. Depending on the choice, you'll get a different ending.

“Truth or dare?”

    Aiba looked to his right at the source of the noise. Nino was spreading next to him on the couch, his hands behind his neck, looking at him with a smirk.

    “Dare,” he answered, almost immediately.

    Seeing Nino's smirk become a mischievous grin, Aiba bit his tongue, already starting to regret his choice. He gulped as his friend's gaze wandered around the room, looking for a way to make his life miserable. He seemed to be satisfied when he saw a rack in front of him, their costumes for the concert hanging from it.

    “Tonight, when you come backstage to change after your solo,” he lowered his voice and got closer to his ear, “you have to 'inadvertently' flash the staff while you're getting ready for the next performance.”

    “Eeeh!? I can't do that, Nino, that's sexual harassment!” he exclaimed.

    “You calling it quit?” hummed Nino. “Are you a chicken?”

    “I'm not a chicken,” Aiba burst out.

    Nino observed his best friend's face. His cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, - and a little anger too, he suspected. He felt his lips move, and a smug grin invaded his face. He knew Aiba would complain, but in the end he would always do whatever Nino asked of him. It was their secret little game since they were 15, and neither of them had ever called it quit yet.

  


***

  
It all started when a thirteen years old Nino entered Johnny's agency. He didn't love it, but he didn't hate it either. It made for a nice way to pass the time and, even though he didn't feel like he belonged, he definitely didn't feel uncomfortable either, and that was a nice change of pace for him.

    As for Aiba, it hadn't been more than a couple of weeks since he had entered the agency, and he seemed already more at ease than Nino had ever been in the past two months he was there. Nino didn't really know Aiba, but he seemed cool. A little too chirpy for his tastes, maybe, but cool.

    There was also another thing Aiba was, and that is extremely naïve. He was the perfect victim, and Nino thought that he'd love to make fun of him because of that. If he had to tell the truth, - but you would never catch him telling the truth anyway, - the first time he had met Aiba, he instantly liked him. He was funny, always laughing, loved by everyone. Nino was a little jealous. He seemed to be able to make friends with everyone in the span of one second. He had no real friends, so to him Aiba was a wonder. He wanted desperately to be him, or at least to be his friend. But since he didn't know how to make friends, the only possible solution for him was to resort to his only weapon: pranks.

    He had started with something simple. A piece of paper taped to his back while he was distracted. Written on it were the words “call me idiot and high-five me.” He could never forget the look on Aiba's face when he had everyone he met that day come up to him and suddenly call him idiot. But, being an insufferable ball of bubbly fun, he somehow found a way to turn it around, and for the next couple of months every guy at the agency adopted the 'idiot and high five greeting' as the hew hip trend. Nino had sighed, but he didn't give up so quickly.

    He had passed the best time of the next three months planning pranks. He had Aiba sit on a freshly painted bench, substituted the snack in his backpack with fake food, switched the salt and the sugar next to the cafeteria so he would drink a very salty orange juice when he got up to put sugar in it, put fake bloody eyes in his locker in the showers... And yet, Aiba never seemed too upset at any of it. He just shrugged and laughed about it with his friends. Nino was getting impatient.

    The next time they had dance practice, he waited for Aiba to be alone in the showers and stole his clothes and towels leaving a two-piece pink satin lingerie instead. He hid in the back of the locker room so he could see his reaction, ready to jump out of his hiding place to give him back his clothes after a long and hard laugh in his face.

    Aiba came back a few minutes later, happily singing to himself. He looked around for his clothes and towels, but he couldn't find them. All he had was the towel he had brought to the showers, but it was drenched in water. He saw the pink satin lingerie on the bench and picked it up interested. Next thing Nino knows, Aiba is wrapping the short, wet towel around his waist, and putting the underwear on his head to keep his damp hair from falling on his forehead. Still singing, he walked out of the room, leaving a shocked and very impressed Ninomiya behind.

    That evening, Nino opened the door to the rehearsal room, where he knew Aiba was eating with other Juniors. He entered and saw him dressed in a gym suit. Somebody must have had a spare in their locker, and had given it to him. The clothes were too short for him, so his back and his ankles were completely exposed, but Aiba didn't seem to care. He was sitting on the floor with his _bento_ in his hands, swirling his chopsticks around whenever he talked or laughed. Nino's tongue snapped impatiently, and he went to sit on a chair in the corner of the room, alone. When he reached out to take out his own _bento_ from his backpack, though, he saw that the box had opened, and his dinner had completely spilled out.

    “Oh no!” he exclaimed, and quickly shoved his hand in to recover his Game Boy. He used his sleeve to remove all the rice from the screen and hastily turned it on. He sighed with relief. It still worked, thank God.

    “Do you want some of mine?” a voice said.

    Nino lifted his head and saw Aiba smiling in front of him, handing him his _bento_. There were dumplings, various vegetables including Chinese cabbage, and what looked like _mapo tofu_ in it.

    “Ah, sorry, my family owns a Chinese restaurant, so my mum usually gives me leftovers,” without waiting for his reply, he pushed the box in his hands. “It's really good, though, I promise!”

    Nino looked at the food. It did look good, he had to admit. “Th--thank you, Aiba-san, but I can't accept,” he murmured.

    “It's okay,” he said, moving his hand in front of his face dismissively. “I have more! I always bring enough to share.” He smiled.

    “Oh. Thank you, then,” he said, a little embarrassed.

    “You're welcome, ah, Ninomiya-kun, is it?”

    He nodded. “But they call me Nino.”

    “Nino, then,” Aiba nodded. “Why don't you come and eat with us, Nino?”

    Again, he didn't wait for his reply. He unceremoniously grabbed his hand an dragged him to his group of friends. “Everybody, this is Ninomiya-kun,” he introduced him cheerily. “But his friends call him Nino.”

    Everybody waved their hands at him, and introduced themselves. Nino was only partially listening, though. A little because he was too overwhelmed by the whole situation, a little because he was pretty sure Aiba had just called him 'friend.'

\--

When it had been time to go home, Aiba had been delighted to find out that his new friend rode the same train as his.

    “I never knew that!” he exclaimed. “I'm so happy we get to ride the train together.”

    Nino nodded silently and followed him.

    As they were almost ready to walk out of the building, Nino noticed the pink underwear sticking out from Aiba's pants. He couldn't help but laugh. Aiba turned around to look at him, a little confused, but pleased.

    “What's so funny?” he asked.

    Nino felt a little guilty. He slowly swallowed his saliva and looked at the taller guy. “I'm sorry,” he said, pointing at his pants. “It was me who hid your clothes. I thought it would be funny.” He closed his eyes. _'That's it,'_ he thought, _'he's going to hate me now. Well done, Kazunari,'_ he scolded himself.

    To his surprise, he heard a loud laughter instead. He opened his eyes and looked at him confused. Aiba had doubled up on his stomach and was laughing like a madman.

    “That,” he said when he had calmed down, “was a little mean.” He smirked. “But funny, after all.” He winked – or rather tried to wink, but failed, closing both eyes at once. Nino chuckled under his breath as Aiba walked out and gestured for him to follow.

    On the train, they sat close together. Aiba moved frequently in his seat, and that was starting to annoy him, but it secretly made him happy. He knew that probably having to stay silent was a torture for him, and he smiled a little at the thought that he would be wearing his ear off once they got out of the train. That was the day Ninomiya Kazunari made his first real friend since kindergarten, and his best friend for life.

\--

“Ne, Aibaka,” he mumbled, looking at the blank screen of his Game Boy Colour.

    “I told you not to call me that, Nino,” he pouted a little.

    He ignored him. “Do you have spare batteries? I used up mine and my Game Boy is dead.”

    Aiba scrambled in his bag. “Sorry, no luck.”

    Nino sighed. “I'm booored,” he whined, stretching his syllables.

    They were in the station, waiting to catch their ride home, but they were early today, and the train was nowhere to be seen.

    “We could play _janken_ ,” Aiba offered.

    “What are we, twelve?” Nino snorted.

    “Almost sixteen, actually,” he retorted.

    Nino rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Look, why don't we do something more interesting?” he said with a smirk.

    Aiba squinted his eyes. He knew that look. He had known Nino for more than two years now, and he knew what that grin meant: trouble. And, more specifically, trouble for _him_.

    “Why are you looking at me like that?”

    “Whenever you propose we do something _interesting_ it always ends up with me getting caught in some embarrassing situation while you go your merry way,” he said, suspicious.

    “It's different this time,” Nino said innocently.

    Aiba snorted. “I don't believe you.”

    “Come on, Aiba-chan,” he sing-songed. “It's a simple game, really. Truth or dare.”

    “Hmm.”

    “Each of us gets a turn. If you choose truth, you can't lie. And if you chose dare, you have to do whatever the other one says,” he explained, scrolling his shoulders. “Pretty straightforward.”

    “You can't lie? And you have to do whatever I say?” Aiba asked, a little curious.

    “Yeah, that's kind of the whole point of the game, Aibaka.”

    “What if I don't like it any more?”

    “You can call it off, of course. But it wouldn't be fair without some sort of punishment, don't you think?” he added, with an angelic look on his face.

    “Hmm,” Aiba repeated. “Who gets to start?”

    “We can _janken_ for it, since you were so eager to play before.”

    Aiba thought about it. “Alright,” he conceded. “But no cheating!”

    “No cheating. Promised.” Nino put his right hand over his heart.

    They played _janken_ and Nino won the first round. Aiba regretted ever saying yes to this game when he saw the evil look on Nino's face after he had chosen 'dare.' That night, he got home with his hair all wrapped up in ponytails going in all directions, and a blush on his face so red that it would have put a tomato to shame.

  


***

  
“Aiba, what was that? We were so surprised,” Nino asked with just a hint of teasing in his voice.

    They had just ended their concert after the last encore, and they were waiting to get in the shower when Nino had approached his friend and asked him that question out loud. Aiba looked daggers at him.

    “Eh? What is this about?” Sho arched his eyebrows.

    “Right, you weren't there, Sho-kun,” answered Nino. “You went to do your solo after Aiba, right?” Sho nodded. “Well, after he came back to change, _this_ guy,” he pointed at Aiba, “when he pulled his pants down, he also pulled his underwear,” he paused for effect, “in front of everyone.”

    “What?!” Sho started laughing and clapping his hands. Ohno was a complete mess, holding his stomach and crying from all the hilarity. Jun was holding back, but only because he was too tired to laugh out loud. Aiba stared at Nino, who had a very amused look on his face.

 _'That jerk,'_ he thought. _'Gathered everyone around because he knew what was going happen.'_

    Almost as if he could read his mind, his friend looked at him and winked, congratulating himself for the brilliant success of his plan.

    “It was an accident!” Aiba blurted out, looking down at the floor. “My underwear got caught somehow, and so that happened.”

    “Really, Aibaka, you are hopeless,” Nino said, looking up exasperated and patting him on the shoulder.

    One after another, the other members dragged themselves to the showers. Aiba grabbed Nino's wrist before he could follow.

    “Truth or dare?” he whispered angrily in his ear.

    Nino smiled smugly. “Which one will it be, ne?” he hummed. “Dare, then.”

    Aiba grinned. Nino always chose dare, after all. And he was going to get his revenge.

\--

It had been a week, and Aiba still hadn't come up with a dare for Nino. But, according to their rules, a week was the maximum time limit, and Aiba had to give his order by the end of the day or lose his turn automatically. It often happened that the older guy would wait till the last minute, but he never lost a turn. He simply used to drag it out because he never knew what dare he should make Nino do.

    The day passed without a word from Aiba till they were back in their rooms at the hotel after another concert.

    “I got it!” he announced with a sparkle in his eyes, barging in his room uninvited.

    Nino was sitting on the couch, watching the sports channel. “Uh?”

    “Your dare.”

    “Oh, right,” he rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I almost forgot.” He looked at his watch. It was past eleven. “Cutting it close, uh? In another fifteen minutes you would have lost your turn.”

    “But I haven't, and I have you dare,” he said, trying not to giggle.

    “Let's hear it, then.”

    Aiba sat on the armchair. “In two days you're having lunch with your mother, right?”

    “Yes,” Nino replied, feeling a little uneasy. _'What is he planning now?'_

    Aiba couldn't contain a giggle. “While you're with her, I want you to write a passionate text to your girlfriend...”

    “I don't have a girlfriend.”

    “Your lover, or whatever you call her,” Aiba rolled his eyes.

    “Is that it?” Nino yawned. That was easy. He didn't even know what Aiba was so excited about.

    “Oh, no, now we're getting to the good part,” he clapped his hands. “I want you to write a passionate text talking about what you like about her and what you want to do to her, stuff like that. And then, when you're sending it,” he smirked, “I want you to send it to your mother who's sitting right in front of you by 'accident.'”

    If Nino had been drinking at that moment, he would have spluttered everything out. “What!?” he said, incredulous.

    Aiba's smirk grew bigger. Nino never thought he could be capable of something like that. In the seventeen years this game had been going on, his dares were usually something stupid like “feed Ohno with your chopsticks,” “go around with your clothes backwards” or, - Aiba's personal favourite, - “draw boobs on a hundred post-its and paste them everywhere making sure someone's watching you.” He never thought he could level up like that in the span of one week.

    “You can always call it quit, Kazu-chan.” Aiba was clearly having fun. For the first time, he had all the power, and Nino was helpless. “Show everyone what a chicken you are.”

    “I'm not a chicken.”

    “Well, we shall see in two days, shall we?”

    And with a final laugh, Aiba left the room, leaving him alone on his couch, thinking about his revenge.

\--

Two days later, Aiba insisted to tag along with him to meet his mother for lunch.

    “You don't need to come, you can check my phone later, idiot,” he had snapped.

    “And miss the look on your face? Never,” he had chirped in response.

    They were in Aiba's car, - he wanted to go so badly, so it was only fair that he'd be the one to pay for gas, Nino had told him, - and they were arriving at their destination, a five stars Italian restaurant called _Di Buona Forchetta_. They left the car in the underground parking, and entered from the back door. A woman was waiting.

    “Welcome, Ninomiya-san, Aiba-san,” said the woman in a foreign accent. She was definitely a foreigner, though Nino doubted she was really Italian. “Your guest has already arrived. May I please escort you to your room?”

    They followed the woman to the private room. Inside, Nino found his mother waiting for him at the table. He greeted her with a kiss and observed as Aiba exchanged pleasantries with her. He sat at the table and gritted his teeth. This was going to be a nightmare.

    “Aiba-kun,” was saying his mother, “how's work going?”

    “We just finished our last concert for this tour yesterday, so we're getting a couple of days off to relax. After that, we return to our normal filming schedule.”

    “Oh, I see.” She turned towards Nino. “And tell me, is my son treating you well? Is he being a good boy?”

    “I'm not a child, ma',” he replied, pouting.

    “God only knows why you act like one sometimes, then,” she said, and both she and Aiba laughed.

    Their night was so pleasant that Nino forgot about the dare. The had chosen a fish menu, so they started their dinner with their _antipasti di mare_ , followed by some _risotto alla pescatora_ , and some _orata in crosta di patate_ , which was basically roasted sea bream with potatoes and tasted as good as it sounded. They were just about to begin eating their dessert, _tiramisù_ , when Aiba, who was sitting next to him, gently nudged him under the table with his foot. Well, at least Nino thought he had tried to do it gently, but Aiba being his usual clumsy self, he basically gave him a kick that made him howl in pain.

    “Kazu, what's wrong?” his mother asked him, worried.

    Nino reached his ankle to massage it. “It's nothing, I kicked the table by accident,” he lied. If she had been anyone else, he would have called Aiba out and yelled at him to be more careful, but his mother had always had a soft spot for his friend, and she definitely wouldn't appreciate his son being his usual snarky self with him.

    He grimaced a little at the thought of what he was about to do. He took his phone from his pocket under the table. He had already composed a text with Aiba's “help” earlier. It was so full of filthy words that if he were actually capable of blushing over that pale skin of his, he'd be as red as a burning star right now. He considered not to send the text after all. What if he called it quit? He would have to face a punishment, but whatever Aiba would come up with for that... could it be worse than this?

    He glanced at Aiba sideways. He had a mischievous look in his eyes as he talked with his mother. He probably thought Nino wasn't going to get through with this and that he had the victory in his hands. Nino cursed under his breath. He wasn't going to give in. Aiba Masaki would never win against him. In a spark of rage, he pressed the “send” button on his phone. _'Crap, crap, crap. crap.'_ He regretted it immediately when he heard the soft _ding_ coming from his mother's purse.

    “Oh, I'm sorry,” she said while picking up the phone. Aiba looked at Nino in shock. He really didn't think he'd send that, did he? A brief sense of pride invaded his chest, but it died immediately when his mother spoke again. “Kazu-chan, why are you sending me a text now?” she laughed.

    “Ah, wait!” Nino tried to stop her on impulse, with no luck.

    His mother put a hand on her mouth, aghast. “Ninomiya Kazunari...” she whispered.

    Nino wanted nothing more than for the Earth to swallow him whole.

\--

He didn't know why he said that, but, boy, was he glad he did. It was one of those strokes of genius things. But he had just uncovered a secret he never even knew existed, and _boy_ , was he going to use it to his advantage.

    A month had passed since he had to send that text to his mother. Aiba was feeling so guilty after that that he had gone back to giving him stupid, softcore dares like “draw on Riida's face while he's sleeping,” or “talk like a little kid for a day.” He also feared Nino's revenge, of course. Which is why he had chosen only “truth” for the past month. But Nino was nothing but sweet and courteous with him, asking him truths like “what's your favourite member solo in the new album?” or “did you really make out with Takei Emi last time she guested on VS Arashi?”

    It wasn't that Nino wasn't angry any more, - albeit still somewhat impressed at the nerve on that guy. On the contrary. But he thought that revenge was indeed a dish better served cold. And he intended to blindside Aiba whenever he least expected it.

    With that in mind, he really thought he was doing nothing more than giving Aiba another innocent, the-answer-doesn't-matter question that day when he had sat down on the couch in the middle of the greenroom and had looked at Aiba, who was sitting on his right, stealing glances at the other members.

    “Truth or dare?” he'd asked.

    Aiba had flinched a little. “Truth,” he'd replied in a little voice.

    Nino had looked at the other members who were doing their own things. “Hmm. Do you want to bang anyone from Arashi?”

    Now, Nino had known Aiba for a whole of twenty years, so he knew him better than anyone else – Aiba himself included. He knew, then, what it meant when his friend's lips would quiver imperceptibly like that, and he would tuck his hair behind his left ear, looking away. Aiba was uncomfortable, and now all the members had turned to look at him because he had just yelled _“Really!?”_ in amused shock.

    “What's up?” inquired Jun.

    Aiba squirmed in his seat. Nino suppressed a laugh. “Nothing, sorry.” He raised a hand at Jun in apology, and the others turned their attentions back to their previous activity.

    “Really?” he repeated, this time whispering to Aiba, who was looking back at him with a panicked expression. “Who is it?”

    “You get one question, Nino,” he said, agitated. “It's my turn, so... truth or dare?”

    “Dare,” Nino hummed.

    Oh, yes. Sweet revenge.

\--

Aiba had blurted out his dare the next day.

    “Put ice in your underwear until it melts, and let everyone think you peed yourself,” he said, a little amused.

    Nino didn't like that dare one bit, to be honest. Having ice in his underwear definitely wasn't something he was looking forward to, but he gritted his teeth and resolved to fulfil the dare that same day.

    “Nino...” Sho patted him on his shoulder.

    “Yes?” he said, nonchalantly.

    Sho looked embarrassed. “So, well... You...” He had pointed discreetly at his wet pants.

    “Oh,” he simply said. “I must be getting old,” he scrolled his shoulders. Somewhere in the back of the room, he could hear Aiba's distinctive giggles echo in his head.

\--

He had waited till the last possible moment to ask. He had enjoyed seeing Aiba wince every time he addressed him, evidently agonising at the suspense.

    He rang the door to Aiba's apartment at eleven thirty. Friday was laundry day for Aiba, so he knew he would be there.

    “Who is it?” asked Aiba from behind the door.

    “It's me,” he simply replied.

    Aiba opened after a couple of seconds. “I was considering not letting you in,” he admitted, as he watched Nino change his shoes.

    He laughed. “You're too honest for your own sake, Aibaka.”

    He followed his friend to the kitchen. He was doing the dishes when he had rang, so he resumed his washing. Nino leaned on the counter next to the sink and looked at him.

    “So,” he hummed. “Truth or dare, Aibaka?”

    Aiba considered it for a second. He grimaced a little. “Dare,” he said softly, his voice almost covered by the sound of the water.

    Nino smirked. He wasn't really expecting Aiba to answer otherwise. He probably thought that Nino would ask him the identity of the member, if he had to tell the truth. Well, he was right. But this was Nino they were talking about. He had a few more aces up his sleeves, and, really, he was just so glad he could start using them.

    “Dare, is it? That's too bad, I was hoping for a truth,” he said, faking disappointment. He turned around so he could rest with his elbows on the counter. He cupped his face with his palms and put on an innocent expression. Aiba had stopped washing and was looking at him with a glint of concern in his gaze. “Well, then,” he didn't let up his fake innocent tone. “How about this for a dare? Tomorrow we all have an interview together, don't we? I want you to buy yourself a drink, any drink.” Aiba squinted his eyes at him. Nino replied with a big smile. “When you come back to the greenroom I want you to...” he got closer to the sink, “accidentally, of course...” he opened the tap and splashed some water on Aiba, “spill your drink on Sho's lap.”

    “All right.” Aiba seemed relieved at that.

    “Oh, no, I'm not done.” He laughed sarcastically. “I want you, the good, kind-hearted, little helper that you are, to lend Sho a hand in cleaning out the mess you made. Vigorously,” he added.

    Nino revelled in Aiba's scandalised expression.

    “Is that too much for you? You can always choose truth, if you'd like.”

    “I'm doing it,” Aiba said, blushing, but sounding determined.

    “Hey, you're the boss,” said Nino. “Now make me something, I'm hungry,” he yawned as he sat on a stool.

\--

Oh, Aiba was going to do it alright. And it would be a sight to behold for sure.

    They were all in one room, waiting for the reporter to come and meet them. They had just finished their filming for the day, and they were all a bit tired. Ohno and Sho were laying on one of the couches, with their eyes closed. Ohno, as his usual, was in a fetal position near the armrest, while Sho was simply spread in a sitting position, his arms crossed on his chest. Jun was sitting on a chair, eating his dinner and reading his script. It seemed like he had a late night filming for one of his dramas after their interview, so he wouldn't have the time to eat afterwards.

    Nino took his Nintendo from his bag and sat on the chair near Jun. From there, he had the best view on Sho's figure slouching on the couch. He gave Aiba a meaningful look and saw him sigh as he left the room.

    He returned a couple of minutes later holding what seemed to be hot coffee he must have gotten from the vending machines in the hallway. He tried to stifle a laugh and then made a grimace at the thought of the hot coffee on Sho's pants. He did tell Aiba _any_ drink, didn't he? He really didn't envy Sho at that moment.

    Aiba stood by the door for a while, trying to find the courage to just get on with his dare. Was he going to quit? Nino pretended to pay attention to his game. Maybe he was going to call the dare off. Maybe he wasn't. But one way or another, Nino was going to find out about Aiba's secret.

    He heard footsteps and realised that Aiba was moving. He looked at him without lifting his head. Aiba moved slowly to the couch, where Sho was almost asleep, his legs spread in front of him, making his lap hard to miss. Nino saw Aiba close his eyes and fake a false step, making his coffee spill right onto Sho's thighs and on his precious family jewels.

    “AAAAHHH!” he yelled, suddenly waking up wincing from the pain.

    Jun and Nino lifted their heads, Ohno stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes. Nino was trying so hard not to laugh at the whole scene.

    “Ah! I'm s—so sorry, Sho-chan!” Aiba stammered, grabbing the shirt he had tied on his hips. He started patting Sho's wet pants with the shirt earnestly.

    “Masaki, what are you doing?” Sho yelled in a high-pitched voice.

    Aiba unbuttoned his pants. “I'm sorry, Sho-chan, let me help you.” He tried to pull Sho's pants down, while Sho tried to pull them up.

    “Aiba, stop!” he yelled angrily.

    He stopped immediately. He looked down at the floor in shame. “I'm sorry. It was an accident.”

    Sho's cheeks were flushed with rage. He took a deep breath. “I'm going to change.” He stood up, buttoning his pants, and walked out the door.

    Aiba sat next to Ohno and put his hands on his face.

    “Aiba-kun, are you okay?” Jun stood up and went to sit next to him.

    “I'm sorry,” he said, his hands still on his face.

    Ohno patted his head. “It's all right, you didn't mean to.”

    Aiba finally pulled his hands down and put them on his lap, staring at them. “Yeah.”

    The other members were trying to comfort an ashamed Aiba sitting sadly on the couch when Sho came back with new pants. He sat next to Nino without a word to Aiba, still looking angry despite the man coming up to him and apologising one more time. Seeing his friend looking even more depressed at Sho ignoring him, Nino had to admit, he did kinda feel bad about the whole thing.

\--

Sho didn't talk to Aiba for a while after that. Even when they were filming together, he didn't interact with him as much as he used to, and everyone noticed. Aiba was visibly upset at that, and Nino had to remind himself every time that that was the same guy who made him send _that_ kind of text to his own mother. He couldn't lose his cool now. He had to go through with his. Revenge and all. Sho would come around.

    But Sho didn't come around for a whole week, and Aiba was so distressed that he missed his deadline for the first time in seventeen years. Nino called him from his bed at midnight, a little worried.

    “Hello?” Aiba answered.

    “Where you sleeping?” He said, incredulous.

    “Yes, I have to get up early tomorrow.”

    “Our game. You just missed your turn.”

    “Oh.” Aiba sighed. “Crap. I forgot. Sorry.”

    “You forgot,” repeated Nino. Aiba didn't reply. “Look, if you want out, just say it okay?” He tapped on the covers nervously.

 

\- Make Aiba tell Nino he wants out → **Go to chapter 3**  
  
\-  Make Aiba continue → **Go to next chapter**


	2. Make Aiba continue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You chose to make Aiba continue.)

    “No, no.” Aiba said with a yawn. “I just had a lot to do this week.” He was probably lying, thought Nino. “Go ahead. It's your turn again, isn't it?”

    “Yeah, well. You know the drill.”

    There was a long pause. “Dare,” he finally said. “But please let me sleep tonight, I have to wake up very early tomorrow. I'll see you at work, okay? Night.” And he hung up without waiting for his reply.

    Nino dropped the phone on his bed and massaged his temples. _'Remember the text, remember the text, remember the text.'_ Yeah, he still didn't feel any less guilty.

 

\--

 

The next day, Nino went to work with a huge headache. When he opened the door to the greenroom, he heard Aiba giggle, and his headache thumped violently against his temples.

    “Shut up, Aiba,” he said, irritated. “Your giggle is insufferable.”

    “Ah, sorry, sorry,” he said gleefully.

    “Uh? You're in a good mood.” Nino was surprised. Was this the same broody, depressed Aiba he had been the past week? What happened all of a sudden?

    “Masaki, you dropped something.” He saw Sho approaching Aiba, giving him the pen he had just dropped. “Honestly, you should be more careful,” he said rolling his eyes, but in a teasing tone.

    “Thank you, Sho-chan,” Aiba smiled at him.

    “Thank God that's settled,” murmured Jun on his right. He looked up at Nino. “Seeing Aiba-kun like that really took a toll on all of us, uh?”

    Nino had an idea. He grinned, sitting down next to Jun. “I think we all should just get along with everything he asks for a while, you know? To keep him happy. I really don't want to see him sulking like that again,” he said, unable to stop the hint of truth in his voice.

    “Yeah, I agree,” Jun concurred. “I'm going to tell Leader, too.”

    _'Perfect,'_ he thought, while thinking of his next dare.

 

\--

 

“J looks very tired, doesn't he?”

    Aiba turned to look at him. “Uh?”

    They were at Nino's, sitting on the carpet in front of the television. They had connected the computer to the TV so that they could use its screen. They were playing an online game, taking turns with the headset and controller. The big screen was showing a dragon and a party of magicians and knights trying to fight it.

    Nino grimaced at yelled at the screen. “Watch out!” The dragon was clawing at Aiba's character on the screen. He dodged just in time and sent a charm its way. The dragon took the glowing red hit with a growl. “If you're going to lose, give it to me,” Nino said between gritted teeth.

    “Sorry,” apologised Aiba. He used a potion to recover some HPs. “What we're you saying?”

    Nino leaned back against the couch. He stretched before putting his hands behind his neck. “Your next dare, Aiba-chan. I was thinking you could help out J with his stress.”

    Aiba mumbled.

    “Maybe tomorrow, after filming, you could ask him out.”

    He cackled. “What, like a date?” He yelped as the dragon spit fire on the whole party. “Crap. How did you do the shield charm again?”

    Nino sighed and took the controller from him, showing him how to summon a simple white cloud that could protect his avatar.

    “Wait, now it's only me who's protected,” said Aiba. “Can't I protect my friends?”

    He rolled his eyes. “They're not your friends. They're your enemies. You're only allying to fight the dragon together.”

    “Still,” he pouted, but didn't protest further.

    They stared at the screen for a few moments. The only sound was Aiba's tapping on the controller and the players' shouts coming from the headset.

    “So you're gonna do it?”

    “What?”

    “The dare, idiot.”

    Aiba stuck his tongue out, focused on dodging fire. “Hmm. I should ask him out, was that it?”

    “Well, it’s not that simple, no. I thought we could make things more interesting, of course.” He grinned. “How about you write him a love letter first?”

    “What!? Aw, man!” Aiba looked at his character being hit and losing his last HPs.

    Nino took the controller from his hands and snatched the headset. “Game over,” he said. He lowered the mic of the headset and spoke into it. “ _Now_ the game is getting serious.”

    Aiba didn't know if Nino was talking to him or to the other players on-line, but he felt like that last sentence definitely held a lot of truth.

 

\--

 

The next day, Aiba showed up at work with a white envelope and a troubled expression.

    Nino pointed at the envelope. “Did you write it like we said?”

    Aiba nodded. “This is bad, Nino, what if he actually believes I have a thing for him?”

    He raised his eyebrows. “Would it be that bad for you, really?”

    Aiba blushed. “Of course it would!”

    He snatched the letter from his friend’s hands, ignoring Aiba’s protests when he opened it to read it.

___________________________________________  
Dear Jun,

I’ve been looking at you for a long time now.  
You are always so kind and sweet, and you would  
never let anything get in the way of Arashi being  
at their best. I am so grateful for that.  
You are the best teammate and friend one could  
ever ask for.

But lately you’ve been very busy with your new  
drama, and with Arashi’s engagements too. I fear  
that you’ve been stressing out too much and I  
want you to stay healthy.

I like Jun the most when he’s happy, so please  
let me make you happy.

With love,  
Masaki.  
_________________________________________

 

    Nino snorted. “ _‘I’ve been looking at you for a long time now.’_ What are you, his stalker?”

    Aiba grumpily took the letter back. “He’s just going to laugh at this. Or worse, he’s going to give me a serious talk,” he whimpered at the thought.

    Nino whistled. “Who knows, _Masaki_. Maybe you could get lucky tonight.”

 

\--

 

The last meeting ran for two hours straight on a Friday night. Nino had spent most of it looking at his phone, listening idly as Jun spoke with the managers. Here and then, Sho would get in the conversation, and Aiba would try and offer his point of view. Nino and Ohno only spoke when called, though. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the real star was Matsumoto Jun.

    “We should probably bring back some of the old favourites,” he was saying. “Make a poll about it and let the fans answer.”

    “And for the solos?” Yoshizawa asked. She was the artistic director, and the only one who could keep up with Jun's ridiculous tendency to overthink everything. “Do you want to choose your own solos, or should we let the fans decide that as well?”

    Jun looked at the list of solos in front of him. “You know what? Let's have them decide, yes. But this time let's ask them to swap our solos. So for example I could end up getting Sho-kun's solo, he might get Nino's and so forth.”

    Sho grimaced. “It's certainly... original.”

    “If you're not on board we're not doing it.”

    Sho raised his hands. “No, it's fine by me. But aren't the fans going to compare? They might be disappointed.”

    “I think it's interesting,” said Aiba. “The fans will like that. It'll be like 'oh, so that's how it sounds like if another member sings it' right, Jun-kun?” he looked at him, smiling kindly.

    Jun nodded. “That's what I was going for.”

    Yoshizawa took a look at her watch. “Well, you have the whole weekend to think about it, but then we're getting the polls out onto the website, so let us know by Monday morning, okay?” A chorus of “yes” filled the room. “Good.” She yawned. “Now let's just get home. Good work today.”

    Everybody shuffled around, gathering their belongings. Jun remained seated, looking at the papers in front of him, scribbling his notes on the margins.

    Nino pulled his feet off the table and leaned to Aiba, who was yawning in the seat next to him. “Did you give him the letter?”

    Aiba looked at Jun nervously before turning to his friend. “I left it in his bag, but I saw him pick it up earlier.”

    “Good. If you want to ask him out, I think this is your clue, tiger.”

    Aiba tapped anxiously his fingers on the table.

    “Are you reconsidering it?” Nino teased him. “Are you just a big chicken after all?”

    Aiba crossed his arms. “I'm not a chicken,” he whispered angrily before turning his attention to Jun.

    They waited for the others to leave the room. Jun remained in his seat, looking over his papers, sticking post-its on some pages, writing on others. He sighed to himself as he turned the last page and lifted his head.

    Sitting on one side there was Nino, quietly reading something on his phone with a blank expression, on the other there was Aiba, looking at him worriedly. As soon as he noticed that Jun was looking at him, he smiled sheepishly.

    “Are you all done, Jun-kun?”

 

\- Make Jun lie → **Go to chapter 4**

\- Make Jun tell the truth → **Go to chapter 5**


	3. Make Aiba tell Nino he wants out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You chose to make Aiba tell Nino he wants out.)

:: FINALE #1 ::

 

There was a long pause. “It's not that...” Aiba sighed again. “Yes. Maybe it's best if we stop with this, Nino.”

    “I'm sorry, okay,” he said, suddenly. “It got out of hands. But before we're done with this, uh... I'd like to make it up to you.” He stared at the ceiling nervously, waiting for Aiba's reply.

    “What do you mea--”

    “Truth,” Nino said immediately.

    “What!?”

    “Truth,” he repeated. “You can ask anything.”

    “A—are you sure? You never picked truth before...”

    “Just ask your damn question before I change my mind, Aibaka.”

    He heard Aiba's light chuckle come from the other end. “I just... I guess I want to know why you're doing this...”

    Nino scratched his ear. “I thought we were best friends.”

    “Uh? We are, Nino.”

    “Then why didn't you ever tell me?” He kept on staring at the ceiling. He was glad they were doing this over the phone, because he probably would be too embarrassed to tell the truth in person. “I was kinda hurt when I found out about this whole thing. You could have just told me, you know? I'm your best friend, I don't care that you wanna bang one of our guy friends.”

    Aiba didn't reply right away. Nino waited. He was willing to wait as long as it took.

    “I'm sorry,” he finally said. “I know you wouldn't have cared, I do, I do, but... it's embarrassing, and it's hopeless anyway. So, I just hoped that if I didn't say it, it never would have been true.”

    “Is it Sho?” Nino asked, brusquely.

    “Uhm... yeah...” he whispered.

    Nino imagined Aiba's cheeks were full-on blushing at that point. Now he was kinda regretting not doing this face to face. He could have teased him so much about it. “You're an idiot, you know that?”

    “I know, I'm sorry I didn't tell you.”

    “No, no, not that.” Nino shook his head. “Well, that too. But mostly the 'hopeless' part. You should have just told me sooner. That idiot has been in love with you for the last ten years.” Silence. “Are you still alive, or did the news kill you?”

    “Are you kidding me? Is this one of your pranks?”

    Nino sighed. “I'm telling the truth, I swear it on my future Nintendo Switch. He told me after we got drunk one night on the set of Yamada Tarou. Thought I could have a little fun with it, so I still keep on blackmailing him sometimes. Honestly, why do you think he puts up with me even when he's clearly annoyed?” He rolled his eyes.

    “I thought... Sho-chan is always nice...”

    “Yeah, but he ain't no saint,” he sentenced. “Look, you're my best friend, and I like Sho. He's legit in love with you, like... flowers, chocolate, serenade, and Paris in love. So, if you're just looking for a one night stand, you might want to look somewhere else. But if you want to... yeah, go ahead. You have my blessing.”

    “Nino.”

    “Yeah?”

    “Thank you,” he said truthfully.

    Nino groaned. “What are we, twelve years old schoolgirls? Are we going to say 'I love you' now? Just go get your stupid loverboy and leave whatever's left of my masculinity intact, thank you.”

    Aiba giggled. “See you at work.” And he hung up.

    Nino grinned to himself. “Those two idiots,” he whispered to his pillow before falling asleep.

\--

Only a week had passed from that heart to heart call when Aiba called Nino over for dinner. He rang the bell as someone else approached him.

    “Nino?”

    “Jun?”

    “Did you get Aiba's text as well?”

    “Oh, I didn't know you got it too.”

    The door opened. It was Sho. He looked at the both of them smiling. “Welcome. Please get in, Ohno-kun is already inside.”

    Nino and Jun exchanged looks and they entered Aiba's apartment.

    They changed their shoes into slippers and made their way to the living room. Ohno and Aiba were sitting on the couch, drinking some beer, and Sho was on his feet trying to make the AC work.

    “Nino! Jun!” Aiba exclaimed. He probably was a little tipsy because he stood up and gave them a hug, almost tripping in mid-air in the process.

    “Careful,” said Jun. “So, what's going on?” He looked at Sho, who seemed the only sane person in there.

    Sho finally gave up on the AC with a sigh. “We invited you here to have a little housewarming party, actually,” he said, a little embarrassed.

    “...we?” Jun said, incredulous.

    “Wow, you guys aren't wasting any time,” said Nino. He took a beer and threw himself on the armchair. “Congrats!”

    Jun looked at Aiba and Sho. “So you two...?” They both nodded. “Finally.” He raised his eyes to the ceiling. “I couldn't take it any more when I ran into you at some bar and you started whining about being stuck in an unrequited love tragedy,” he said to Sho.

    “Wait! You told J too?” Nino was outraged. “I thought I was the only one!”

    Sho laughed. “Well, you were the second, if it's of any consolation.”

    “Wait, so, who was the first?” Aiba asked.

    Everyone looked at Ohno.

    “Eh? Me!? Really?”

    Everyone laughed.

    Looking at Aiba and Sho being so happy, Nino felt a little warm inside. He turned around to look at Jun, who had sat on the floor, taking a beer from the table. Nino crossed his arms on the armrest on his side. “Say, J...” he started.

    Jun looked up.

    “Do you want to play a game?”

    “I'm not playing any games with you,” he snorted.

    “Oh, so you're saying you're a chicken?” he mocked him.

    Jun frowned. “I'm not a chicken.”

    “Well then... truth or dare, _chicken_?”

    “Dare,” Jun answered, annoyed.

    Nino grinned. This was going to be so much fun.

 

Want to change your choice? → **Go back to chapter 1**


	4. Make Jun lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You chose to make Jun lie.)

:: FINALE #2 ::

 

He nodded. “There still are some details to work out, but I’m done for now.” He took one of the pages and gave it to Aiba. “I need you to look over the details for the merchandise though. I need confirmation as soon as possible, please.”

    Aiba took the document. It was full of post-its and writings. “Sir, yes sir!” he chuckled.

    From his seat, Nino shook his head. He looked up at Aiba, who was now serious.

    “Jun-kun…” he said, hesitantly. “The thing from earlier, uhm, did you see it?”

    Jun glanced nervously at Nino, who was trying his best to put on a confused expression. “I did.”

    “Oh. Good.” He looked away, embarrassed, and didn’t speak.

    Nino glanced over at Jun’s documents and saw Aiba’s letter peeking out. “Say, J,” he moved closer. “I was wondering about this one point of the meeting...” He tried to snatch the papers and made everything fall on purpose. “Oops, my bad.”

    Aiba, Jun and Nino ducked together to pick the papers off the floor. Nino looked around for the letter. Where did it fly to? Did Jun or Aiba already pick it up?

    “Ouch!” Nino heard Aiba say. He had bumped his head on the table trying to get up, and now he was muttering _“crap”_ under his breath.

    “You okay?” Jun asked.

    Aiba looked at him red in the face. “Ah! Yes! Of course! Sorry!” He returned to his task. “So about the merchandise list...”

   Jun stopped. “Y—yeah.”

    Aiba didn’t look at him. “I just glanced over it.”

    Nino scoffed to himself. _‘What’s with this list thing now?’_ He looked over at Jun, who was blushing a little now. Nino found that strange. “Do you have a fever or something, Matsumoto?” he asked.

    Jun laughed embarrassed. “I’m fine. It’s just...” he glanced quickly at Aiba before picking some more documents. “It’s quite hot in here is it?”

    “It’s November. He,” he pointed at Aiba, “is wearing a scarf.”

    Jun didn’t reply.

    “Ah!” Nino exclaimed.

    Aiba and Jun looked at him.

    “What is this?” he said smugly, holding Aiba’s letter in his hand. “Dear Jun...” he started reading out loud.

    Jun panicked and tried to rip the letter off his hands, but Nino was faster. He stood up in no time and started running away from Jun. The youngest started chasing him around the table as he read in between pants. “ _‘I’ve been looking at you for a long time now.’_ Aww, that’s sweet, Matsumoto, isn’t it? Bit stalkerish maybe.”

    “Wait, Nino, stop,” Jun almost succeeded in grabbing his shirt.

    _‘I like Jun the most when he’s happy, so please let me make you happy.’_ Wow, that’s cheesy. Oouf.” He bumped into Aiba, who stopped him. Jun snatched the letter from his hands, his cheeks flushed.

    “That,” he said panting. “Was a private letter.”

    Aiba let go of Nino. “Come on,” he teased. “Aren’t you going to reply to that?” He snickered under his breath.

    Neither Jun nor Aiba spoke after that. Nino looked at them unsure what to do. “Wow, you guys, I was just kidding,” he said.

    “I already did,” Jun blurted out in his direction. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

    “You did?” Nino looked over at him. He had never seen Jun look that embarrassed and awkward in his life. He considered snapping a picture of this moment for safe-keeping, but he knew neither of his friends would ever let him live it down. He glanced at Aiba, who was smiling a little to himself. “Eh!? When?”

    “Nino, let it go,” Aiba said gently.

    He ignored him. “I’ve been standing here all this time, and unless you two can use telepathy I don’t see how you did that.” He tried to work it out. Aiba had asked Jun if he was done for the night and he said yes. He asked him to check a list and handed him the document. Then Nino had made all the papers fall so he could get his hands on the letter… _ _‘Ah! The list!’__

    He ran over to Aiba’s seat and looked down. The merchandise list Jun had asked him to check was on the floor. He picked it up. It was full of post-its with notes and suggestions. But one post-it was different. They were all yellow but one, which was green. On it, Jun had written something of a love letter of his own.

___________________________

Aiba-kun,

thank you for your letter. It made  
me so happy.

I also like ~~Aiba-k~~ ~~M~~ ~~Aib~~ Masaki  
the best when he’s smiling.  
Please let me take you out one  
of these nights, just the two of  
us, so we can talk.

Yours,  
Jun  
___________________________

 

    Nino couldn’t believe his own eyes. He looked back at the other two, who seemed lost in a world of their own. Jun was looking down at the floor, smiling slightly, while Aiba was whispering something to him between giggles.

    Nino rolled his eyes. “You guys, go get a room, seriously.”

    Jun looked at him annoyed. He nudged gently into Aiba’s shoulder and went to pick up his documents.

    Aiba poked Nino. “Does it still count if he asked me out first?” he whispered to him happily.

    Nino snorted. “Don’t tell me, now you’re going to get even more insufferably cheerful?”

    Aiba smiled wide. “It’s likely.” He lowered his voice. “Also, for your next dare… I wonder if this love letter trick could work for you and Satoshi-kun, too?”

    Nino felt his face become hot. _‘Oh, crap,’_ he thought as he saw Aiba smirk at him. He might have to start to choose truth for a while, from now on.

 

Want to change your choice? → **Go back to chapter 2**

What to start over? → **Go back to chapter 1**


	5. Make Jun tell the truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You chose to make Jun tell the truth.)

    He sighed. “I’m sorry, Aiba-kun, I’m still knee-deep in this.” He rummaged in his clear file to look for something. “I almost forgot. This is for you,” he handed him a document. “Could you check the details for the merchandise, please?”

    Aiba took it. “Of course, yes.”

    Nino looked up at his best friend. He was glancing over at the list and then back at Jun, as the latter was still checking his papers. He kicked Aiba under the table.

    “Ouch!” Aiba flinched. Nino smirked, remembering when Aiba kicked him at the restaurant.

    Jun looked up. “You okay?”

    “Ah, yes. Sorry,” he mumbled. He hesitated a little. “Uhm, Jun-kun...”

    “Yes.” He had turned his attention back to the papers.

    “That thing from earlier… did you get a chance to read it perhaps?”

    Jun stopped. “I did.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “Maybe we should talk about that,” he said in a serious tone.

    Aiba shifted in his seat. Jun was going in for the serious talk, and it was going to be very uncomfortable. Nino pretended to drop something so he could laugh silently under the table.

    “Maybe we could talk about it over dinner?” he heard Aiba say.

    Nino re-emerged just in time to see Jun’s gaze soften at Aiba’s clearly tense expression. “Aiba-kun,” he said, before remembering he was there too. “Nino, could we talk in private, please?”

    “Uh? No probs,” he said. He picked his phone and his bag and left the room, winking at Aiba, who was begging him with his eyes not to leave.

    Once outside, he pressed his ear against the door, but he couldn’t hear anything. Sulking a bit, he waited for Aiba to come out. He couldn’t wait to hear about ‘the talk.’

 

\--

 

“That was so embarrassing,” Aiba said, recounting the details of the previous night. He and Nino were alone in the dressing room, waiting for their make-up session. Aiba had his hands over his face, trying to hide from the world somehow.

    Nino laughed out loud. “You should have seen your face when you came out of the room. It was so good.”

    Aiba pouted. “I said over and over that I meant all that as friends, but I don’t think he believes me even now. He kept telling me that he was sorry and he hoped this wouldn’t cause any problems with Arashi.” He hid his face again. “Oh, God.”

    “Tell me again about when he asked you what it meant when you said that you’ve been looking at him.”

    “He actually asked if I was following him around!” he got up and started pacing the floor. “That was so embarrassing,” he repeated.

    Nino started hiccuping. He drank his water until it went away. “I wish I was there.”

   Aiba got back to standing next to him. “Well, you know what? It’s not fair that I have to be the only one doing humiliating things,” he hissed. “Two can play this game.”

   Nino raised his eyebrows. What was this idiot thinking of, now?

    “I dare you to make out with a guy!” Aiba blurted out.

 

\- Make Nino refuse → **Go to chapter 7**

\- Make Nino accept → **Go to next chapter**


	6. Make Nino accept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You decided to make Nino accept the dare.)

    He scrolled his shoulders. “All right.”

    Aiba squinted his eyes. “You’re doing it?” Nino nodded. “With a guy?” He nodded again.

    “Wanna be my lab rat?”

    “What!? No!” he replied immediately, flustered. “That’s disgusting, you’re my best friend.”

    “Ouch,” Nino said, jokingly. “You could have at least considered that.” He looked up at the ceiling, considering his options. “Any guy is fine, right?”

    Aiba snorted. “You know what, I’d like to see you try to make out with Sho-chan.”

    Nino shrugged. “If that’s what you want, fine.” He pushed the door open.

    Aiba ran after him. “Eh!? Now!? Wait, we can...”

    Nino walked confidently into the greenroom. Sho was sitting at the table, reading his schedule for the day. “He seems busy, Nino,” Aiba whispered in his ear nervously.

    “You were the one who made up the dare,” he whispered back. “Are you seriously reconsidering?”

    Aiba tightened his lips and fell silent.

    Nino sat beside Sho, with Aiba on his left. He looked at Sho’s notes on the table. _Filming for Yakai, 8:00 pm_ was written on it, followed by _Dinner with Mai and her husband, 10:00 pm_ , _Bath, 00:30 am_ , and _Drinks with friends, 2:00 am_. _Sleep, 3:30 – 10:30 am_ was written on the bottom part of the page. Each entry had detailed descriptions written in Sho’s small and neat calligraphy.

    Nino poked at Sho’s arm. “Ne, Sho-chan,” he sing-songed.

    Sho lifted his head. His face looked tired, but his eyes looked awake and full of energy. Nino could hear Aiba shifting uncomfortably in his seat next to him. He grinned up at him. “Do you have time to fit something else in that schedule?”

    Sho looked down at his timetable. “Uh? I could try. What is it, Nino?” He looked back up, and felt Nino’s lips lock onto his. Taking advantage of the shock that had paralysed him temporarily, Nino tried to deepen the kiss. It took Sho a few seconds more to react to Nino’s tongue finding the way into his mouth. He pushed him away. He looked at Nino speechless. Aiba was torn between laughing and gaping in horror. He settled for laughing in the end, hiding his face in his arms, his giggle silent, his back jerking up and down as he chuckled into the table.

    “What the hell!?” Sho yelled.

    “Sorry, Sho-chan.” Nino laid back on his chair. “I thought, with that packed schedule, you probably needed to get some.”

    Sho blinked. Nino grinned. The older man blushed a little. “I’m perfectly capable of getting some on my own, thank you.” He slammed his notebook shut and got as far away from Nino as he possibly could.

    Aiba lifted his head, trying to steady his breathing. His eyes were still tearing up from laughter, but he managed to keep a serious expression. He moved closer to Sho and patted him on the back. “I’m sorry, Sho-chan,” he tried to comfort him. “Sometimes Nino goes too far with his pranks.” He looked at Nino with a weirdly smug look in his eyes.

    Nino scoffed to himself. He couldn’t wait to tell Aiba his next dare.

 

\--

 

“Since you're hopeless at remembering your dance steps...”

    “Oi!” Aiba retorted.

    Nino waved a hand. They were sitting on the bed at Aiba’s. He was checking his phone while Aiba looked at funny videos on the internet. As he expected, Aiba had chosen dare again that time. “It's true though,” he continued. “And since Oh-chan is in charge for our next choreography, I though up something perfect for your next dare.”

    “Leader, too? What is it now?”

    “Well,” he put his arm around his friend's neck. “Let's just say you find Oh-chan's steps a little too difficult to learn on your own, and you need a little _afterschool special_...”

    Aiba frowned. “So my dare is to practice my dance steps in my free time?”

    “Yeah, you could say that. And, remember that whole sensual hips move thing? Maybe ask Oh-chan to show you how to do it. Up close and personal. If you know what I mean.” He lifted his eyebrows.

    To his surprise, Aiba laughed. “Is something funny?” he asked.

    “No, it's just that...” Aiba tried to calm himself. “I couldn't imagine Leader latching on to my advances like that.”

    “Who said they're advances? Or is it your wishful thinking?” he teased.

    Aiba blushed. “I'm not saying anything, I told you.”

    “Whatever,” he shrugged. “Just get your dare done.”

 

\--

 

“Uhm, Satoshi-kun?” Aiba started.

    They were getting ready to go home for the night, but Nino had signalled Aiba to go talk to Ohno, so he had sighed and done so.

    “Hmm.” Ohno replied.

    “I was wondering... if you have time now... if you could... actually, I can't get some of the steps right and I wanted to ask for your help.”

    “Sure,” he simply said. He put down his bag again.

    “We'll see you tomorrow, then,” said Sho. “I have Zero in a while, or I would have stayed.”

    “Sorry, I have the filming for my drama,” added Jun, apologetic.

    Aiba looked at Nino.

 

\- Make Nino go → **Go to chapter 8**

\- Make Nino stay → **Go to chapter 9**


	7. Make Nino refuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You chose to make Nino refuse the dare.)

:: FINALE #3 ::

 

He scoffed. “There’s no way I’m going to do that.”

    “Ah-ha!” Aiba made a victory pose. “You’re backing off!”

    Nino crossed his arms. “Of course I’m not. This is a ridiculous dare.”

    “Should I remind you the last two dares you put me through!?”

    “All right. I’m doing it,” he said, determined. He stood up and pulled the collar of Aiba’s shirt, kissing him with no forewarning. They broke apart after a few seconds. 

    Aiba was panicking. His face was flushed and his eyes were open wide. “W—what are you doing?” he stammered.

    Nino was still holding him down by his shirt. He hated that the other guy had to be taller than him right now. “What do you mean what am I doing? I’m making out with a guy. You.”

    “No you’re not!” Aiba yelled in a high pitch.

    Nino’s grip on the shirt tightened. “So you say.” He looked at Aiba’s lips in front of his eyes. They were dry, as usual. “Yet you’re not exactly doing anything to stop me aren’t you?” He raised his gaze and looked him straight in his eyes before pressing their lips together again.

    Aiba didn’t react at first. He flailed his arms a bit, and Nino could feel his heartbeat accelerate under the hand that was touching his chest. He asked himself if Aiba could hear his own heartbeat. It echoed so loudly in his ears that he felt like going deaf. He pushed himself closer to Aiba, licking tentatively at his lower lip. To his surprise, the man moaned at that, and opened his lips just enough so that they could deepen their kiss. He felt a pair of arms wrapping around his waist, and that made him bold enough to let go of the shirt to put both hands on Aiba’s neck.

    “Nino...” Aiba sighed on his lips a few moments later. “Nino stop...” Nino moaned angrily into the kiss. “Stop!” Aiba had pushed him away while saying that last word.

    They looked at each other, panting a little, Aiba’s cheeks still flushed, his arms still raised in the act of pushing Nino away. “Why are you doing this?” he asked. His eyes started watering, but his gaze didn’t waver.

    “You never told me,” he tried to control his anger. He didn’t know why he was that mad about it. What if his best friend wanted to bang another member? He felt a pang of jealousy in his chest. _‘Crap,’_ he thought, tightening his hands in a fist. When did Aiba stop being his best friend? When did it become something more?

    He looked up at the other man. A faint memory of their younger selves squashed on the same bench on the train passed in front of his eyes. Aiba would tilt his head into the crook of Nino’s neck and whisper and giggle. He just couldn’t stay silent, even on the train, when he was supposed to. Nino always pretended not to hear him, fingers clicking away on his Game Boy. But then, when Aiba would shut up after being ignored for the thousandth time, he would jokingly punch his leg to make him talk again. It never felt right when Aiba was silent. It didn’t feel right then, and it didn’t feel right now.

    “Truth,” Nino whispered.

    Aiba shifted his weight from one leg to another. “You never choose truth...”

    Nino nodded. He never did tell the truth. He hid it away in the deep corners of his personality, and never let it come out. He didn’t wait for Aiba to ask him his question. “I like you.” He dragged his hands on his face. “I’ve always liked you. Since the first time you entered the room and made that irritable giggle echo in the whole building. It was fine before when you dated other people. But not Arashi. I won’t give you up to any of them.”

    He waited in silence for his reply. _‘Now you’ve done it, Kazunari. Now he’s going to hate you.’_ He shook his head, remembering how he laughed that time when he told him that he was the one who hid his clothes. No. Aiba would never hate him, he was sure. That was one of the reasons why... – he clutched his chest – one of the reasons why he loved him, after all.

    The other man’s voice came out soft and questioning: “But… your dares…”

    Nino scoffed. “I was teasing you because I was jealous, all right? Do you need me to spell everything out? I can’t do this ‘feelings’ thing. Pranks are the only way I know how.”

    “The first time we met,” Aiba quietly giggled. “You hid my clothes.”

    Nino cracked a smile. “Actually, I made everyone call you ‘idiot.’”

    “Ah. So you did.” Aiba embraced himself. “Truth.” Nino looked up in surprise. “Go on,” he nudged him. “Ask.”

    Looking down at the floor, Nino sighed. The words came out without him meaning to. “Do you hate me now?”

    “I don’t,” he replied immediately. He stepped forward. “But this is not what you want to ask.”

    He was right. “Who is it?” Nino tried to smile. “Is it J? Poor guy won’t know what hit him.”

    Aiba shook his head. “You’re my best friend, Nino.”

    His heart ached a little at those words. “I know. I never want that to stop.”

    “Me neither,” Aiba said, taking his hands in his. “That’s why I never told you.” Aiba’s hands felt warm and soft. “It’s you, Nino. It’s always been you.”

    “You...” Nino couldn’t believe his ears. His heart skipped a beat. Tears were forming again in his friend’s eyes, but he didn’t want to see them fall. He pulled gently on Aiba’s hands, and he seemed to understand. He closed his eyes just in time to not see Aiba cry, but he still could taste the salt in his mouth when their lips brushed tenderly against each other.

    They broke from the kiss, still holding hands. Aiba smiled down at him, and he remembered the first time he really fell in love with that smile, when his lunch spilled in his bag and a gentle, almost insufferably cheerful boy offered to share his.

    “What are you thinking of?” Aiba asked him, softly.

    “Will you cook Chinese for me tonight?”

    Aiba laughed. He hugged him. “Tonight, and tomorrow, and for how long you wish. Promised.”

    “Oh, God, you’re so cheesy,” Nino scoffed, but he didn’t try to break free. He put his arms around his friend’s waist and pushed himself closer. He closed his eyes and listened to Aiba’s calming heartbeat.

    Yes, sometimes, maybe just once in a while, telling the truth was good after all.

 

Want to change your choice? → **Go back to chapter 5**

What to start over? → **Go back to chapter 1**


	8. Make Nino go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You chose to make Nino go.)

:: FINALE #4 ::

 

“I have my new Super Mario waiting for me at home, so...” said Nino.

    “You don't want to stay?” Aiba whispered in his ear, suspicious.

    Nino waved his hand. “It's alright, just call me when you're done,” he whispered back. “I can't wait to play Mario,” he said raising his voice to a normal tone again.

    “It's alright,” Ohno said. “Thank you for your hard work today.”

    Jun, Sho and Nino replied back with a “thank you for your hard work today” and left. Or, well, Jun and Sho left. Nino remained behind, spying on Aiba and Ohno from the crack in the door.

    Ohno moved a chair that was in the middle of the room. “So, what do you need my help for?” he said in a casual tone.

    Aiba looked around a bit wary. “Uhm, when the song goes _'I love you, I need you, I want you, anata ga furikaeru made'_ at the chorus, ne? What is that step there at 'furikaeru'?”

    Nino snorted. Aiba observed attently as Ohno repeated the step slowly for his sake. Was he really asking for Ohno's help all of a sudden? He crouched, careful not to make any noise. Aiba repeated the step, but messed up again.

    He groaned in frustration. “Why is it so hard? It looks so easy when you do it.”

    Ohno stood behind him and put his hands on his sides. Nino almost laughed at the height difference. To look at Aiba, Ohno needed to push his head to the side and look up in the mirror in front of them. “It's not that you're doing it wrong,” he was saying. “You just have to learn to balance your weight.” He pushed his right leg from behind with his own leg, keeping him steady. “Do you feel the weight your left side?”

    Aiba nodded, focused.

    “Good,” he let go. “When you turn, you shift your weight to your right side, and that makes you lose your equilibrium. You should try balancing more.” He repeated the step, showing him. “Now you try.”

    Nino was getting kind of bored. Nothing interesting was happening. He pulled out his phone and started writing a text:

    ______________________________  
    To: Aibaka

    This is getting boring and I don't  
    have my Nintendo with me. Also I  
    just found out that there's a Blastoise  
    in the building, so hurry up with your  
    dare so I can go catch it.

    N

    ******************END******************  
    ______________________________

 

    He pressed 'send' and heard the familiar _ding_ a second later.

    “Is that your phone?” asked Ohno.

    “Yeah, one second.” Aiba took his phone from his bag and read the message. He looked around surprised.

    “Everything okay?”

    “Yeah, yeah.” Nino saw him type a reply. He looked at his phone and found a text.

    ______________________________  
    From: Aibaka  
    At: 08:34 p.m.

    Where are you??? Are you spying  
    on me??? I thought you went home!!

    ******************END******************  
    ______________________________

 

    “Who is it?” Ohno asked.

    “Nino,” he simply answered, still looking around.

    Ohno laughed. “Do you expect him to jump out of the couch or something?”

    “I wouldn't put it past him,” he murmured.

    Nino chuckled under his breath. _Ding_. He sent him another text with just the words “dare,” “hips,” “Blastoise,” and “chicken.”

    He saw Aiba read it and turn to Ohno. “Uhm, there's another step... It's really just... The hips one?”

    Ohno chuckled. “I don't think you have any problems with that.”

    “No, really, Satoshi-kun, could you explain again?”

    “Satoshi-kun?” Ohno raised his eyebrows. “Since when have you stopped calling me Satoshi, Masaki?”

    _'Satoshi? Masaki?'_ Nino stared, confused. _'Since when have they even_ started _calling each other by first name?'_

    “No, really, Satoshi- _kun_... just this one step and we can go home.” Aiba's eyes darted dangerously.

    Ohno shook his head. “Whatever you wish, _Aiba-kun_.” He stood in front of the mirror. “So, it was the 'love you and love you part' right?” He showed Aiba the hips movement. “But really, I don't think you need help in that department,” he added in - _'wait a second,'_ thought Nino - was that... a sensual tone!?

    Aiba seemed to have realised too because he started panicking when Ohno put his hands on his hips from behind him. “Satoshi-kun...” he warned.

    Ohno seemed a bit irritated. “Are we roleplaying or something?” He came to a sudden realisation. “Have I forgotten our anniversary? Is that why you're basically recreating the setting for our first kiss?”

    “Ah! Stop, Satoshi!” Aiba yelled, trying to cover up his mouth too late.

    “WHAT!?” Nino lost his balance on the door, which opened, making him fall face-first into the floor.

    Ohno and Aiba turned to face the source of the noise. Nino stood up. “WHAT!?” he repeated, looking from Aiba to Ohno in shock.

    Ohno looked at Aiba and mouthed an _'oops'_. Aiba slapped him on the head. “ _That's_ why I kept calling you with honorifics, you idiot.”

    “Sorry. I didn't know,” he massaged his head.

    Nino put his hands in front of him. “Wait a second... you two?” Aiba and Ohno nodded. “When!? How!? Why didn't you tell me!? I'm your best friend!!”

     Aiba sighed. “I'm sorry Nino, we didn't want you to find out like this.”

    “You haven't answered any of my questions!!”

    “When - during rehearsals for our tenth anniversary concert. How - well, I had asked Satoshi to help me out with some steps, and we kissed. Even though he was quite slow at catching that I was flirting with him,” they both chuckled. “As for the why I didn't tell you... well...” his expression saddened. “I know you like Satoshi too.”

    “I what!?” Nino exclaimed.

    “You know... you like Leader... don't you?” Aiba asked, confused.

    “I like-- You two didn't tell me that this has been going on for seven years because you thought I had the hots for Ohno???”

    “Oh, so you don't?” Aiba and Ohno looked at each other. “We were all so convinced.”

    “What do you mean you were _all_ convinced?”

    The pair smiled sheepishly. “Well...” Ohno started.

    “Don't tell me. Everybody but me knew?”

    They nodded.

    “Really, I'm surrounded by idiots.”

    And without another word, Nino picked up his things and left them in the room alone. He had lost enough time with those idiots and he had a Blastoise to catch.

 

Want to change your choice? → **Go back to chapter 6**

What to start over? → **Go back to chapter 1**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The song Aiba and Ohno are rehearsing to is, as many of you might have guessed, _Seishun Boogie_ from their album, "Are You Happy?"  
>  -When Nino is talking about catching a Blastoise - he's referring to the pokémon Blastoise and the PokémonGO app.


	9. Make Nino stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (You chose to make Nino stay.)

:: FINALE #5 ::

 

“I can stay,” Nino said. He sat in the chair in the middle of the room.

    Jun and Sho left chanting “thank you for your hard work.” Nino waved at them as Aiba and Ohno said it back.

    “Err-- Nino, you're kinda in the way,” said Ohno.

    “But I don't want to miss a thing, Oh-chan. I'm too tired to practice, but I'm sure that looking at Aiba learning his steps will instantly make me better too.”

    Ohno scratched his nose. “Err-- okay, I guess.” He turned to Aiba. “What did you need my help with, Aiba-kun?”

    “Uhm, there's this step, you know... when the song goes 'Attack Attack Attack' we do the hips move?”

    “Hmm,” Ohno nodded.

    “...well, I need help with that.”

    Ohno frowned. Without saying anything, he showed Aiba the steps. “You try.”

    Aiba faced the mirror as Ohno played the music. He repeated every step leading to the hips move perfectly.

    Ohno stopped the music. “I think you're good, Aiba-kun, you don't need my help.”

    Aiba looked at Nino, who was swinging on the chair. He raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure, Oh-chan?” he said. “I mean, from where I was sitting, it looked kinda bad.” Nino stood up and approached Ohno. He started pulling his sleeve. “What can we do, Aiba-chan?” he asked, innocuously.

    Aiba squinted his eyes a little. “Maybe if I could see it closer...?”

    “That's a great idea!” Nino exclaimed. “You hear that, Oh-chan? Aibasshi wants you to teach him _closer_...” He pulled Aiba so he could stand behind Ohno, and moved his hands so they could rest on the oldest man’s hips.

    Ohno didn't say anything. From that position, he had to look up in the mirror to look at Aiba, who looked back at the reflection with an uncomfortable expression on his face. “This is stupid...” he whispered, as Nino turned the music's volume up.

    As soon as the song played, Ohno started moving, pulling Aiba with him. Nino observed the scene trying hard not to laugh at the awkwardness. After the first verse of the song ended, Nino was doubling down from laughter. Ohno stopped suddenly, making Aiba bump into him, pushing him on the ground. They both fell with a groan. Seeing that, Nino couldn’t help but tearing up.

    Aiba, blushing a little, helped Ohno up. “This is so stupid,” he mumbled.

    Nino took a deep breath. “That. Was. Priceless.”

    Ohno stretched his arms. “Will you tell me why you told me to do this now, Nino?”

    Aiba looked back and forth to Ohno and Nino. “What? You knew about the dare?”

    Ohno nodded. “Nino told me to do whatever you asked of me.”

    “And you accepted!?”

    He scrolled his shoulders.

    “I can’t believe you!” Aiba turned to Nino. “It’s against the rules to tell other people about our game!”

    Nino smirked. “You’re right. But I figured, we don’t need games any more, do we?”

    Aiba looked confused. “We don’t?”

    Nino rolled his eyes. Aiba could be so slow sometimes. “I deserve a punishment for breaking the rules, don’t I? I have a suggestion.”

    His friend squinted his eyes. “What is it?”

    “Truth.”

    Aiba gasped. “You never choose truth.”

    Nino nodded. “Yeah, well, I never thought it was worth it.”

    “And now it is?”

    He nodded slowly. “If you ask the right question.”

    Aiba stared at him. He crossed his arms. “Why are you doing this?”

 _‘Bingo’_. He felt his heartbeat accelerate and his palms getting sweaty. Was he really going to do this?

    “Because I like you,” he eventually said, a little embarrassed. “I liked you since the first time I saw you, okay?”

    Aiba didn’t seem to catch what he was saying. “I know you do. We’re best friends.”

    He scoffed. To his surprise, Ohno, who was still standing there - he totally forgot, by the way - started laughing to himself. Aiba turned with a confused expression.

    “You know,” Ohno said. “We’ve been waiting for seventeen years for this.” He slapped his head. “Aw, crap, now I owe Matsujun 5000 yen.”

    “You guys are the worst,” uttered Nino. He took Aiba’s hand. “Let’s go, Aibaka.”

    “Wait!” He stood his ground, refusing to be dragged. “Where are we going? What’s happening here?”

    Nino rolled his eyes. “Come on, I didn’t want to do this in front of Oh-chan, but you give me no choice.” He stood on tip-toes and gave Aiba a peck on the lips. “I _like_ you too, okay? Oh, shut up!” he said to Ohno, who was laughing so much that he couldn’t breathe.

    Aiba looked at him surprised. He put his hand on his lips, still unsure of what had just happened. “You like me too?” he repeated. “Wait!” He blushed a little. “How long have you known?”

    Nino shrugged. “I had my suspects, but I figured it out by the time you dared me to kiss Sho-kun.”

    “Then why didn’t you just ask instead of making me do this stupid dare!?”

    “And what’s the fun in that?” he smirked.

    Aiba rolled his eyes. “I’m going to regret this, am I not?”

    “Probably,” he agreed.

    “Definitely,” Ohno said in between chuckles.

    Aiba sighed. “All right, Nino. Dare. But make it a good one." He smiled softly.

    Nino smirked and took his hand. “Oh, don’t worry about that.”

    Later at home, with Aiba sleeping soundly by his side, Nino couldn’t help but smiling to himself. He gently brushed the other man’s hair, trying not to wake him. He nestled closer and buried his face in his chest. Maybe one of these days, he thought, he could convince Aiba to choose ‘dare’ and dare him to marry him... He felt his conscience slipping away, in a dream of giggles, pink satin lingerie and Chinese food.

    Someday...

 

Want to change your choice? → **Go back to chapter 6**

What to start over? → **Go back to chapter 1**


End file.
